ST. PAUL, Minn. - Governor Walz held a ceremonial signing for the catalytic converter theft bill Tuesday afternoon.
The bill will increase criminal penalties for stealing converters and only allow registered metal scrap dealers to buy them. Detached converters are now required to carry a vehicle information number in permanent ink or engraving.
"We got several restrictions. The auto theft investigators came up with six principles with things you need to do to crack down on converter theft, and they said our bill accomplished all of them,” said Minnesota State Senator, John Marty.
The Rochester Police Department believes the bill will help prevent converter thefts in Rochester.
In 2022, RPD reported 157 catalytic convertor thefts or attempted thefts. So far this year, RPD has reported 19 of these crimes.
"This bill makes it easier to hold thieves accountable by establishing criminal penalties for possession of a used catalytic converter that is not attached to a vehicle or specially marked. We believe this will ultimately deter catalytic converter thefts," said RPD Patrol Capt. Aaron Penning.
RPD joined a state pilot program to distribute converter marking kits supplied by the Minnesota Department of Commerce Fraud Bureau to combat the converter stealing issue in Rochester.
The law will go into effect on August 1st.
